Sea Safari trip report 7th – 9th August 2018

ORCA Wildlife Guides (left to right): Brian Clasper, Elfyn Pugh, Marion Smith, Tracy Guild, Emily Condley, Sunita Brazil, Michael Burns Special guest: Nigel Marven, ORCA Patron

Tuesday 7th August 2018

On Tuesday evening, with a slight delay to our departure, ORCA’s Sea Safari set sail from Portsmouth

International Ferry Terminal. Our Wildlife Guides had welcomed lots of excited guests at the terminal and

were ready for the next few busy days of whale and dolphin spotting! On this trip we were joined by one of

ORCA’s patrons, Nigel Marven, as a special guest. Nigel is a well-known wildlife filmmaker, TV presenter and

producer and is adored by children and adults alike!

On sailing out we held a short briefing with our guests on deck 10 of the Pont-Aven. We appropriately

christened this deck ‘Whale Island’ as it is after all where all the action takes place! Whale Island does in fact

exist and it is a man-made structure in Portsmouth Harbour. It was constructed by French prisoners of war

during the Napoleonic period. It is now the headquarters of the Royal Naval Command and home to the Royal

Navy’s oldest shore-based training establishment, HMS Excellence. If you look at an aerial photograph of

Whale Island, it is indeed the shape of a whale so it seemed appropriate to name deck 10 after this.

ORCA Wildlife Guides with Nigel Marven

Portsmouth has, for hundreds, been a hugely important naval base in peacetime and during numerous

conflicts. It is also a significant ferry and fishing port. As we sailed out we passed some of the most iconic

Royal naval warships both past and present such as the 104-gun HMS Victory which was Vice-Admiral Horatio

Nelson’s flagship at the famous Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. We also passed HMS Warrior, Britain’s first iron

clad warship. She has 40 guns but never fired them in anger. Nearby too is housed Henry VIII’s warship the

‘Mary Rose’ which sank in the Solent in July 1545 (we pass near the spot) when engaged in repelling a

seaborne attack by invading French galleys. Unfortunately for reasons which are unclear she heeled over to

her side and sank with almost the loss of all hands. In 1982 the Mary Rose was raised from the sea-bed and

part of the hull and other artefacts from the vessel are now preserved for all to see in a specially constructed

museum at the Royal Naval dockyard. We also sailed past the impressive HMS Queen Elizabeth the Royal

Navy’s newest aircraft carrier. She is named in honour of Queen Elizabeth the first and not after our present

Queen. Then we cruised past the magnificent 170m high modern structure of the Spinnaker Tower which on

a clear day is visible from a distance of 23 miles.

As we sailed out into the English Channel threatening black storm clouds loomed on the horizon with

thunderous claps and flashes of lightning. A glorious full rainbow added a bit of colour to the sky. It was time

to go below decks and for everyone to get settled in for the night in preparation for a full day of whale and

dolphin spotting.

Wednesday 8th August

On Wednesday morning the ORCA guides and some of our early rising guests were out on deck 10 at

daybreak. The sunrise was quite stunning briefly turning the sea red.

Sunrise from the Pont-Aven on Wednesday 8th August 2018

ORCA Wildlife Guides welcoming guests to deck 10 of the Pont-Aven as we sailed out of Portsmouth

Cory's and great shearwaters

Our position was now in the Iroise Sea (Mer d’Iroise) just South of the islands off the Brittany coast in North-

Western France. This area is renowned for its rich marine life and consequently it’s a marine park and is

designated as an international UNESCO Biosphere reserve. We were effectively still over the relatively

shallow continental shelf no more than 200 metres in depth. The slight delay in leaving Portsmouth harbour

the previous evening wasn’t going to affect our chances of seeing marine animals in actual fact it probably

benefited us as is meant that we had a full day transecting the Bay of Biscay until we arrived at Santander.

We had barely arrived on deck when we were treated to our first sighting of common dolphins ‘porpoising’

their way towards the bow of the ship. The common dolphins hardly ever fail us on this ferry route and often

appear during first light at this point during our Sea Safaris.

Our early risers soon also spotted our first whale species a brief glimpse of a minke whale, the smallest

baleen or rorqual whale species we are able to see in European waters. The rorqual whales are characterized

by the muscular ventral throat grooves or pleats under the lower jaw and belly which enable them to open

their cavernous mouths to engulf gallons of water containing their prey such as krill or fish when they feed.

The birders amongst our group were not disappointed either, with views of great and cory’s shearwaters as

well as small number of the diminutive European storm petrels pitter-pattering on the ocean’s surface. The

name ‘petrel’ is believed to have derived from the name of one of the apostles St Peter who apparently had

the ability to walk on water!

Common Dolphin

We continued cruising southwards encountering a steady number of common dolphins. These animals were

intent on doing one thing and that was to feed themselves to survive but no doubt the ship, appearing to

them perhaps like a big whale, was a brief distraction so some would come to take a look but other pods just

continued feeding in the distance.

By late morning we were dropping off the continental shelf edge which I liken to a submerged cliff which

creates upwelling of currents rich in zooplankton, the minute organisms so vital to all life in the ocean.

Expectation now grew and we alerted our guests to the possibility of seeing some of the great whales!

Our second whale species of the day was a Cuvier’s beaked whale which unexpectedly appeared on our port

side. This species is a deep-water animal and although we expected to see them during the course of the day

we were joyful at seeing one at this juncture. There are currently 22 recognised species of beaked whales on

Earth and some have never been seen alive, however the Bay of Biscay is one of the most reliable places to

see them.

The underwater bathymetry unseen to us was now plunging down into the very deep Abyssal Plain, the

bottom of which is effectively regarded as the ocean equivalent of a barren dessert. Its depth is immense,

over 4000 metres in places with just the occasional seamounts (undersea mountains) which generate their

own rich upwelling of nutrients like an oasis in an otherwise barren landscape. We were now in what is

termed pelagic waters inhabited by different species and as expected we began to see the acrobatic and

gorgeously patterned striped dolphins. They are called ‘streakers’ in the states! This species is not as keen

as the common dolphins to approach ships but some did play in the turbulent waters of the wake wave and

others did what the commons were doing and continued to feed.

The much larger bottlenose dolphins also put in an appearance. This species with its battleship grey

colouration is probably the most familiar dolphin to most people with populations around the British Isles

particularly in the Moray Firth and Cardigan Bay. Pilot whales often associate with bottlenose dolphins and

right on cue, five minutes later, a small pod of pilot whales followed on gracefully surfacing as they do. This

brought great delight to many guests especially those who had quietly confessed earlier that they were

hoping to see this species. The guides were even more pleased as they knew from an earlier briefing back at

base that these whales had not been seen on previous trips.

Striped dolphin

The name pilot whale is rather confusing as they are in fact members of the dolphin family, they are also

called ‘potheads’ due to the bulbous nature of their head which contains an organ called the ‘melon’ which

is so vital to these animals in helping them to find their main prey, which is squid, in the dark murky depths

of the ocean. In order to do this, they use echolocation or bio-sonar emitting a series of rapid clicks produced

within their heads in order to hone in on their prey. Pilot whales are highly social and live in a matrilineal

society.

Onward and southwards we chugged and at around midday came the much-anticipated shout of ‘blow’ which

resounded around deck like a call to arms. Eyes gazed seawards for further blows and appearance of the

animals. This marked the start of a period of wrestling with the difficult decision - lunch or sightings? No one

needed to worry as fin whale sightings and distant blows just kept coming consisting of single animals, and

groups of three animals all being enjoyed by children and adults alike.

There was one remarkably close sighting on the port side as a fin whale, which seemed to be surprised by

the presence of the ship, surfaced and disappeared from sight temporarily only to be seen moments later

rising through the clear water swimming away from the ship revealing the asymmetrical white colouration

on the right jaw, a definitive feature on this species.

As we progressed southward fin whales just kept appearing and there were 8 animals seen in just a short

space of time. One of the guides commented – ‘it’s like whale soup out there’!

We cruised over the deep submarine ‘Torrelavega Canyon’ north of Santander and we were now seriously in

the domain of the beaked whale. Guests criss-crossed the deck as calls went up of, ‘blow’ interspersed with

shouts of ‘dolphins’, ‘Cuvier’s’, a mother and calf Cuvier’s beaked whale duo were spotted. Then a loud shout

of ‘breach’ was heard.

Far out a medium sized whale launched itself vertically clear of the water. It then continued to breach another

four or five times, the height of each breach gradually decreasing. No-one really knows why whales do this

but one can guess that it has something to do with communication. Sound travels 5 times more distance in

water than in air. Whales live in a medium which is alien to us and there is yet a great deal we have to learn

Fin whale blow

about them. The intriguing question is why would a whale expend so much energy to breach in such a

manner? We can speculate but only the whales know the real answer!

One such sighting was challenging and vexed the guides. Although definitely a beaked whale it was neither

the right colour or size to be positively identified as the expected Cuvier’s beaked whale, frustratingly we

could not see its head clearly enough to come to a decision. The suspicion was that it was a northern

bottlenose whale an animal occasionally encountered over these deep canyons. Without the tell-tale view

of the distinctive bulbous head of this species it went down on our data as an ‘unidentified beaked whale’.

Beaked whales generally spend the considerable part of their daily lives feeding in deep waters, in fact they

are more under it than on the surface so it is such a privilege to see them at all. Of course being air breathing

mammals they have to return to the surface to reoxygenate their lungs. They are seen with a great deal of

regularity on our Sea-Safari trips and often close to the ship which can sometimes catch people unaware.

The Spanish coastline appeared ahead of us as we approached the port of Santander. Everyone was simply

buzzing following a day of regular sightings of marine mammals whilst crossing the Biscay. The distant

mountains of the Picos De Europa were shrouded in cloud. Some people were rather surprised to see how

green the landscape looked. The Pont-Aven berthed in her usual spot and we all enjoyed a pleasant couple

of hours in this vibrant city. All and sundry of our guests now satiated by dollops of delicious ice-cream or a

beer or two were back on board to embark on our return voyage. The mooring lines were cast off and we set

sail for Plymouth.

We wondered what the following day would bring. Could it get any better?

Thursday 9th August

Again, on the Thursday morning the ORCA team were up early ready for action. A peek outside from deck 9

greeted us with a wet deck, light rain and a stiff breeze. The chains were across the top of the stairways to

deck 10. We were cleared to go up on deck 10 by one of the ship’s officers but decided to execute plan B

which was to make our way to the very stern end of the ship on deck 6. This provided us with some shelter

from the battering wind. This is often an option if you ever get caught out in a storm crossing the Biscay on

the Pont-Aven but in severe conditions the Captain will even close this deck off too. Of course, passenger

safety is always of paramount importance on any sea voyage.

Cuvier's beaked whale

Anyway, this did not deter the hardy few of us who braved the early dawn and unwelcoming conditions and we were rewarded with a few common dolphins on the edge of the wake wave. Fortunately, the weather only caused a brief disruption to our watching and we re-assembled back on deck 10. Just as this was happening we had a brief sighting of a minke whale on the starboard side despite the unfavourable sea state. Little did we know at that stage that this heralded a remarkable morning ahead. Common dolphins continued to entertain us as we approached the French islands the sea calmed and the sun shone which no doubt made it easier to spot more Minke whales.

The birdwatching fraternity were equally delighted with the numbers and variety of shearwaters we were seeing including manx, great, cory’s, sooty and the rarest of them all the endangered Balearic shearwater. More storm petrels were seen too but these tiny birds are very difficult to spot! The trick is to scan the sea with binoculars until you can pick up their little black bodies and particularly the white ‘rump’ on these birds. Shearwaters are supreme seabirds and excel in rough weather. They are members of the order of birds known as the ‘Procellariiformes’, otherwise known as tubenoses, which comprise of 100 species including the huge wandering albatross with a wingspan of eleven and a half feet and right down to the tiny petrels which are no bigger than a house sparrow!

A common dolphin leaping out of the water

Great shearwaters in flight

We saw distant ‘boils’ on the sea surface and later ascertained that they were probably schools of Albacore (a species of tuna) feeding on smaller fry and some dolphins joined the melee which were probably common dolphins. Some of these predatory fish came closer to the ship and ‘breached’ which allowed members of the ORCA team to photograph them. The ship eased her engines to a steady 15 or so knots as we carefully negotiated the ‘Passage Du Fromveur’ with the lighthouses of ‘La Jument’ and ‘Kereon’ guarding the entrance on each side. Kereon lighthouse stands on a rock known as ‘Men Tensel’ which means ‘the vicious stone’. We know from experience that the Captain would be on the bridge at this time as these are tricky and treacherous waters. We passed the island of Quessant (Ushant) on our port side. Now safely through we now entered the English Channel and we were on our way back to good old blighty! More common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins appeared. There were now scattered flocks of shearwaters, gulls and hovering and plunge diving gannets. Were there any cetaceans amongst them? There were a couple of fins seen amongst this feeding frenzy which were probably common dolphins.

A gannet taking off

Tuna leaping at the surface of the sea

Just then there was a loud shout of ‘blow’ from a fellow passenger. On observation it was distant at first on

the port side but when seen it was clearly a blow from a rorqual or baleen whale. It is extremely unusual to

get this at the given location because we were in relatively shallow water however there was no doubt about

it this was one of the great whales! I simply cannot describe how excited we were all getting especially the

experienced guides because this was such an unusual occurrence.

The ship changed course slightly to steer into the channel which actually gave us a better angle to view the

behaviour of this animal which now appeared on the starboard side. There was hardly any elbow room up at

the railings as everyone stood there expectantly waiting for the next exhalation of breath from this whale.

Then it came one blow after another the body of the animal showing nicely including the distinctive white on

the right lower jaw or mandible. It was our old friend the fin whale. Flocks of gannets hovered above the

surfacing whale while some common dolphins were seen close to it which is not an unusual occurrence.

There was a small fishing boat nearby, perhaps the men on board were watching the whale or perhaps they

were going about their business, whatever they were doing the whale seemed unperturbed by the presence

of the boat.

Quite suddenly there was obviously something quite different happening with this whale, it was ‘lunge-

feeding’! Wow- this is the feeding strategy of this whale whereupon it lies on its right side and in this case

with its left pectoral fin or flipper extended skyward. The huge mouth was clearly open and it was moving at

a steady pace. The white lower jaw and baleen plates would be pointing downward so affording a cryptic

appearance to any shoaling fish this animal was preying on. It would be closing its jaws forcing the water out

through the baleen plates and trapping any fish within its huge mouth trapped in the fine bristles on the

trailing edge of the baleen plates. At one stage again with the animal on its side it raised one of its tail flukes

out of the water and skyward presumably in another lunge feeding movement. This is what we were

witnessing and we were so lucky to do so as it is not often seen at such close range. Simply astonishing!

Feelings amongst us all afterwards seemed to be a cocktail of pure delight mixed with disbelief. We

ascertained that the depth of water where the whale was foraging was around 65 metres so it was relatively

shallow water for such a large whale to manoeuvre in.

Fin whale lunge feeding in the English Channel

Fin whale’s left pectoral fin extending skyward as it lunge feeds

Fin whale in the English Channel with a dolphin (which can be seen to the right of the whale)

and flocks of gannets close by

But that was not the end to it, one minke whale after another seemed to pop up. When these whales surface

they don’t tend to give out a visual blow, at least not in these lower climes. They surface and you get to see

this grey back and then quite a big falcate dorsal fin set well back. They surface once, twice maybe three

times and then they are gone. They have certainly earned their nickname of ‘Slinky Minkies’!

The ORCA guides and dedicated guests continued to scan the sea for marine mammals and were rewarded

with sporadic sightings of some more common dolphins. However, proceedings came to a natural close as

lunch beckoned and before we all then met up again in the main bar for a round up talk by the ORCA guides

and to hear of Nigel Marven’s adventures with whales (and dinosaurs!) His talk held us all enthralled.

We sailed into Plymouth passing the Eddystone lighthouse on our port side and our Sea Safari came to an

end. It had certainly been an ‘epic’ trip and one of the best that the veteran Biscay guides had experienced

The ORCA guides wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our guests for their patience and understanding

with regard to changes to the itinerary at short notice and for being such enthusiastic whale watchers

throughout. We thank you for all your support. You have all helped to contribute to the valuable data we

have collected on this trip to help ORCA’s conservation work and to ensure that our whales & dolphins have

a secure future in our oceans for future generations to enjoy.

We also wish to thank Nigel Marven for joining us on board for this Sea Safari and for his support of ORCA as

a patron and Brittany Ferries for their continued support of the charity.

A detailed and accurate map of our sightings and the data collected can be found below. This data is

invaluable and illustrates how important the Bay of Biscay is to our marine megafauna.

We hope to see you all out at sea again in the near future. This report was compiled by ORCA guides Elfyn Pugh, Marion Smith and Brian Clasper.

Photographs are credited to Brian Clasper and ORCA.

Bird list

Great Shearwater - 2200 Mediterranean Gull - 5 (Portsmouth) Kittiwake

Balearic Shearwater - 250 Shag - 2 Herring Gull

Manx Shearwater - 300 Fulmar - 2 Common Tern

Sooty Shearwater - 80 Sabine’s Gull - 1 (seen by Nigel) Black-headed gull

Cory’s Shearwater- 30 Lesser-black backed Gull

Storm Petrel- 8 Great-black backed Gull

Great Skua- 6 Gannet- many seen from young birds to adults

Other species

Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola)- 1

Albacore (tuna sp.)- numerous.